Hope Is For The Foolish
by Soccer-Bitch
Summary: When Emma Pulitzer is sent to New York, what she thinks is going to be a very boring trip to see her grandfather turns into something much more. Jack/OC


Date: February 19, 2009

Title: Hope Is For The Foolish

Author: Soccer-Bitch

Chapter: 1 of?

Rating: T

Pairings: Jack Kelly/OC

Warnings: Some Strong Language, Reference to Sexual Situations

Feedback: All opinions are welcome!

Disclaimer: I own my characters and that's it. I don't own Newsies, although I can wish, right?

Summary: When Emma Pulitzer is sent to New York, what she thinks is going to be a very boring trip to see her grandfather turns into something much more.

Thanks: Carrot Top for letting me bounce ideas off you for this story! I appreciate it!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Emma Pulitzer stepped off the train. It was mid-morning and she had been on the train for much longer then she wanted to be. She stood at 5'6" with hazel eyes, with a bit of green around the irises. Her hair was down to her shoulder blades when let loose, which it was, with ringlets shining in the sun. Her light brown hair always looked soft and her sisters seemed to love, since she was the only one in her family with light brown hair. Wearing a black skirt and white top with boots, Emma took a few steps away from the train and looked around.

"Ms. Pulitzer!"

Turning to where she heard the voice coming from, Emma looked into the eyes of her grandfather's friend. Looking into the kind eyes of Mr. Henry Fincher, Emma smiled kindly at him. Although she hadn't been back to New York since she was seven, she was happy to know that Mr. Fincher was doing well. He was always kind to her as a small child. Even when she wasn't acting very lady like. "Mr. Fincher, how are you doing?" Emma asked, her smile reached her eyes.

"I am doing well, Ms. Pulitzer. The carriage is to take your things back to the house, but your grandfather insists that he sees you right away so as long as you don't tell, we can ride the horses back,"

"You are too kind," Emma said as the two started to head to the carriage where she saw that her bags were already loaded up. Not able to stop the smiling from coming back to her face, she looked at the look on his face. "You planned this,"

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Henry said, attempting to keep the smile from his face, but it was no use and he let out a laugh. "You haven't changed since you were seven, Emma,"

"Just you wait," Emma said as she made her way to the midnight black horse that she remembered as a child. "He was only a colt when I left and now look at him. He's beautiful. What did you end up naming him?"

"Patrick for his temper and this is Storm for she was born during a terrible storm and no one thought she would survive," Henry told her as she approached the temperamental horse.

"I want him," Emma told the older man, who had a surprised look upon his face at her statement. Smiling she turned her attention back to the horse in front of her whispering to him. "Shall we go?"

"Yes, Ms. Pulitzer," Henry said moving to assist her on getting up onto Patrick, but she beat him to it. And she wasn't sitting the way a proper lady of society should, especially since she was wearing a skirt. "You'll soon find that many things have changed since I was last here,"

Nodding his head, he pulled himself up upon Storm and they started trotting to the office of Joseph Pulitzer. When she recognized the area upon the ride, she was wondering if she kicked Patrick into a gallop, would Henry chase after her. Glancing at her left where he was riding stiffly on Storm, she bit he lip before digging her heel into Patrick which jolted him enough to start galloping. With a laugh, Emma nudged him on. It felt good to be going faster than a snails pace upon a horse. "Emma!" she heard Henry call from behind.

Going as fast as she could, Emma was quiet a distance ahead of Henry and she knew it. This was her favorite thing to do. Riding with her hair down and without a worry on her mind made her happy. Not caring that she wasn't acting as a proper lady should, Emma pushed Patrick a little harder. Sooner than she thought, Henry caught up to Emma. "Slow down, Ms. Pulitzer," he said, and she did as he asked. Noticing that they were outside where her uncle would call for his lunch, Henry asked her to go pick it up and handed her the money for it.

Walking into the restaurant, Emma saw Mr. Tibby, the owner. When she lived out here with her Mother, coming into the restaurant was second nature. Unsure if he would remember her, she held her head high and walked up to the counter. Glancing around, she noted that it hadn't changed in the years that she had been gone. It was a comfort to know that some things could stay the same and have a good memory stay alive. "Pick up, Miss?" Mr. Tibby asked, once he was behind the counter.

"Yes," Emma said with a smile. "Not sure if it's under Emma or Joseph Pulitzer,"

"Emma Pulitzer?" Tibby looked into her eyes and let out a laugh. "You still have that look about you,"

"What look?" Emma asked, unsure how to take that statement.

"The one that says you are still up to no good." Tibby laughed and after a moment Emma joined in as well.

"Oh, that one," Emma said thoughtfully. "Well you can't please everyone,"

"There you are," Tibby said grabbing the bag and Emma handed him the money for it. With a smile she headed to the door so that she and Henry could make their way to see her grandfather. It was the one thing she was dreading about coming back to the city. Although she loved it in New York City, if it wasn't for her grandfather, she wouldn't have had to leave in the first place. The man was nothing to her, her own mother didn't like him as much as she did as a child. Telling Emma that he had changed, but Emma didn't believe it. He was just an old man that cared only for himself and his money.

"You're a Pulitzer?"

"Can I help you?" she asked, attempting to be the polite lady her mother had attempted to raise.

"I was hoping that we could talk with you," the blue eyed boy told her sticking out his hand.

Accepting the handshake, Emma gripped his hand tightly. "It's Emma," she told him as he released her hand. "How can I help you?"

"Would you like to have a seat?" he asked motioning over to where the smaller boy was eating.

"No, I still haven't checked in with my grandfather and I really need to get going before his friend comes to check and see if I am alright," Emma told him honestly.

"Have you heard of the price for the papers going up?" the blue eyed boy with slightly curled hair asked looking at her.

"I've been in the city for a whole hour, sir, so no I have not," Emma retorted.

"Well you see Pulitzer and Hearst are sayin the price for papes is gonna be goin up." The other one said, he had warm brown eyes and a red banana tied around his neck.

"Many costs go up. The price for papers shouldn't be too big of a surprise for you." Emma said. "You must have known it would come eventually,"

"It wasn't the price of the pape that went up. It was the charge for the Newsies to buy the papes,"

"You're related to Joseph Pulitzer, right?" blue eyes asked.

"He's my grandfather," Emma said straight faced. "And it isn't by choice,"

"Do you think that maybe you can get him to put the prices back to where they were when they change?" blue eyes asked.

"Who are you? Both of you," Emma asked, letting her curiosity get the better of her

"I'm David Jacobs and this is Jack Kelly," the blue eyed boy said.

"But some call me cowboy," Jack told her, a crooked smile graced his features just for her.

"Let me tell you something right now. Joseph Pulitzer doesn't do anything unless it benefits him in a way that won't make him look weak to the other big shots that own other newspapers. The only way to get to him is to unite and stay strong while uprising against the increase," Emma said.

"You mean strike, right?" David asked.

"I didn't say anything," Emma said with a small smile before backing away from the men and heading to the door with the lunch her grandfather ordered. Before opening the door, she looked at them. "Good luck,"

Walking outside, Emma handed the bag of food to Henry before mounting Patrick again. It was time to head to see her grandfather. Wishing she could stay at Tibby's and talk with this Jack Kelly, who some people called Cowboy. She had never met a newsie before, but there was just something about Jack that made her want to stay and talk to him. Looking back, she looked at the window where he was sitting and saw that he was watching her. With a shy smile, Emma bit her bottom lip and followed after Henry to the place she knew she would be a lot during her stay in New York. She didn't even know how long that would be.

A short ride later, Emma and Henry arrived at the Pulitzer tower. The place where he grandfather conducted everything business. She couldn't help but wonder if all of it was legal or if some were illegal. Her dislike of her grandfather only grew larger as he became more and more power hungry. His own daughter didn't want to see him, instead she sent her eldest daughter. The one she didn't have to worry about becoming anything like him. Dismounting from their horses, Emma patted Patrick on the snout and smiled at him. Scratching behind his ear, she looked at the animal before following Henry inside and to her grandfather.

Walking with Henry, Emma noticed that there weren't as many people around as there used to be. As a little girl, she remembered running down the hall that was filled with people. It was how she lost Henry many times, because of the crowds. Without so many people, she wouldn't know where to go to lose him. She'd have to think about it for a while, but she knew she would be able to come up with something. Hoping things around here weren't scheduled but knowing the chances of that were slim. Joseph Pulitzer was a man with a schedule and everyone stuck to it, at least that was how it was when she was here the last time. Maybe some things had changed, doubtful, but still possible.

Stopping a few steps behind Henry, Emma bit her lip to try and calm the butterflies that were going wild in the pit of her stomach. Walking through the doors, Emma didn't see her grandfather at first glance, but upon the second glance around, she saw him behind his desk with the newspaper covering everything but his fingers on each side as he read the paper. Looking at Henry with a confused look, she looked back and saw that her grandfather was still reading the paper. "Ms. Emma Pulitzer is here to see you, sir," Henry said clearing his throat loud enough for his old friend to hear him.

Setting the paper down, Joseph Pulitzer looked at the woman in the room standing next to Henry. She had grown since the last he had seen her. Barely recognizing his own flesh and blood, Joseph stood from his seat and walked closer to her. Grabbing her into a fierce hug, well as fierce of a hug as he could, Joseph looked her up and down. "You look just like your mother did at this age. Not a thing of your father,"

"Thank you, sir," Emma said unsure of how to respond to that.

"None, of that sir, business," Joseph said letting go of her shoulders as he looked into her eyes. "Family has no need to be so formal,"

Nodding her head in agreement, Emma's mind started to drift back to the boys at Tibby's. For some reason she couldn't get the dark haired boy out of her thoughts. The way he spoke about how her grandfather was going to raise the price fro them but not for anyone else, well he seemed so devoted to making sure it didn't happen. Even if it meant turning family members against one another, but that wasn't what he was aiming to do. He just wanted to make sure his friends as well as himself were getting a fair deal. Not that she and her grandfather were close or that she really wanted to be here all that much, but thinking to Jack, she could see how it could be okay for the time being.

"Now, how about a tour of what could very well be yours one day," Joseph suggested.

"Mr. Pulitzer, wouldn't it be best if we let young Emma relax for the day?" Henry suggested as he set up Joseph's lunch upon his desk.

"Yes, she does seem tired," Joseph said looking at his granddaughter. "I assume I can trust you to get her home?"

"Of course, sir," Henry told him before he headed to the door and waited for Emma to leave the room first and followed after her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Waking up, Emma looked around the room and realized that she had been able to sleep in. The sun was shinning brightly through her opened window. Her grandfather was probably at the office and Henry was probably the one knocking on her door that made her exit dream land. As the door opened she saw Henry behind the maid who came in to see if she was decent and awake so that he could enter. "Morning Maria, Henry," Emma said as she sat up with the larger blanket tucked to her body.

"Morning Miss Pulitzer," Maria said before leaving.

Maria was one of the maids that Emma liked when she was younger and she couldn't help but hope that time wouldn't change that what so ever. Remembering when she was younger, Maria helped Emma out of a lot of situations where her Grandfather would have started a screaming match with her and she never backed down from him. Even as a kid, Emma did what she wanted when she wanted to. Her mother said that she had Emma first to get the most difficult child out of the way. That was the long time running joke between mother and daughter.

"I am off to do some errands, so the house will only have the workers. The horses are out back if you wish to ride them in the pen, but if you wish to leave, then wait until I have returned or take one of the butlers with you, please," Henry told her.

"I won't leave today, maybe just for a bit of riding with one of the horses. Is there a riding outfit for me here? Mother said there would be, but I can't be sure," Emma told him as she wiped the sleep from her eyes.

"In the wardrobe," Henry said walking back to the door. "Maria will be up with your lunch and I will be back later before your grandfather returns home,"

After Henry left the room, Emma walked over to the wardrobe that was made of red oak and had carvings all over it. It was unique. Opening the door to it, she was surprised at what she saw in there. Not just a few outfits for riding, but outfits for every weather condition in New York. She couldn't help but wonder if it was Henry's doing or if it was her grandfathers. She'd have to ask Henry about it when he came home. For now she was going to pick an outfit and eat and go and see Patrick and Storm and what other horses where out there.

After dressing, unassisted, she walked out of her room and down the grand staircase and found herself looking into a room that she hadn't seen in too long. It was a dance room. Her mother and grandfather believed that if she was ever to be a lady in the public eye she would need to learn how to dance. It was a summer of torture that resulted in her first kiss. Her instructress' son, whom was a year older than she was. If her grandfather ever found out about that, he would have for sure fired the woman and made sure no one would hire her in the dancing profession.

She used to refer to the room as the room with too many mirrors. There were too many for her liking. It showed too many angles for her liking, but her mother said that was so she could watch and learn from the mistakes and so the instructress could evaluate her skill level and maybe get her into a dance school, which would have been just dreadful in Emma's opinion. She didn't like being told what to do or how to do it or anything of the sort. That could be why the help always called Emma the free spirit of the family. She wasn't anything like Joseph Pulitzer. Emma enjoyed helping around the house, even if it was purely out of boredom, she did it without anyone knowing besides the ones she was helping.

Breaking her stare into the room, Emma walked away and towards the kitchen. She saw Maria putting together some of her favorites. It was odd, to see the maid making breakfast, but not to Emma. She knew how well Maria could cook and sometimes she preferred to eat what she cooked instead of what the chef wanted to cook. That always made her mother laugh. No one ever told old man Pulitzer and it seemed as if that it would stay that way for good. There were many secrets that her grandfather didn't know about that she had come across while growing up. The staff in the house somehow knew she wasn't like her grandfather because they seemed more relaxed when it was just her around.

After eating, Emma walked out the back door and to the stables. Upon arriving inside the stables she heard many noises coming from inside. There were twice as many horses then the last time she had come here. She didn't know why he needed so many; the old man had never ridden a horse in all of Emma's life. He liked being in a carriage, but that was a cage to Emma and she preferred to have her hair loose and letting her horse run as fast as she could go for as long as the horse could go.

Walking up to the stall that had Patrick's name written on it, she smiled when he stood there looking bored. Reaching into her pocket she took out one of the carrots that Maria had given her to give to whatever horse she wanted to. Showing the carrot to Patrick he slowly came over and Emma gladly gave the food to him as she petted him. She didn't know why but she loved Patrick more than any other horse. It was like they had some kind of connection or something. Emma couldn't explain it what so ever.

Spending the day with the horses was ever so relaxing for Emma. She hadn't realized it was so late until Henry came and told her that she had missed super, but informed her that Maria was bringing a plate from dinner to her room and if she wished to see her grandfather that she should make her way into the house soon. Thinking about going in made Emma cringe, she really didn't want to face her grandfather just yet, especially with the way she looked. She was dirty and that would not impress her grandfather at all, not that she was looking to do that.

Walking back into the house, Emma noticed the change in the staff. They were much tenser compared to this afternoon when she was in the house alone. She didn't need three guesses to figure out why the sudden change. Luckily for her she was able to escape up the stairs without her grandfather seeing her. Upon walking into what was now her room, Emma let out a gasp in surprise when she saw Henry coming out of the bathroom that was connected to her room.

"A bath is being run for you," he stated as she sat on her bed and started removing her riding boots. "I believe your grandfather has left for his meeting. He has asked that if you require something to ring the bell at your bedside,"

Looking to the table, she saw that a silver bell had been placed there. "What happens when I ring it?"

"Maria or one of the other maids shall come to assist you," Henry said.

"I won't use it," Emma said disgusted by the idea. "I know where things are, I will be fine,"

"It is there if you need it," Henry told her. "Maria will be up in a while to bring you dinner since you forgot about eating. It would seem you prefer the company of horses to those of people,"

"Oh, I do," Emma told him. "They aren't rude and they don't talk back either. And they show affection, more so then certain people in this house do. So you just can't lose with horses."

"I shall leave you now," Henry told her before leaving her room and closing the door after himself.

Pulling the elastic band out of her hair, Emma ran a hand through it. She knew it had spots of mud from where she had slipped and fell into some mud. She laughed when it had happened and she was thankful that she was able to calm down the stable hand so that he didn't find Henry and tell how clumsy she had been. Knowing if this had happened when she was home with her mother she knew that she would never hear the end of it. Glad that she was earning the trust of the staff at her grandfather's home, she knew that they would come in handy when she needed an escape for some reason. She always needed a bit of help in that area. If she made friends with the staff, she'd have their back and they'd have hers. With the good thoughts in her head, Emma walked into the bathroom with her robe in her arms and shut the door.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: Please let me know what you think. This is my first Newsies story! Thanks a bunch!


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